The REASONS BEHIND JACOB & MIB: NEWCOMB'S PARADOX OR PROBLEM? by LOSTFANCHRIS

I did not write most of this theory. I have constructed this theory with information based on facts of philosophical paradoxes. I found this information to be useful and possibly bring something new to the table. Hope you all enjoy

My theory is simple. I believe I figured out Jacob and MIB’s reasoning based on the Newcomb’s paradox…


“The Newcomb’s paradox is a thought experiment involving a game between two players, one of whom appears to be able to predict the future. Whether the problem is actually a paradox is disputed.”

“A person is playing a game operated by the Predictor, an entity somehow presented as being exceptionally skilled at predicting people's actions. The exact nature of the Predictor varies between retellings of the paradox. Some assume that the character always has a reputation for being completely infallible and incapable of error. The Predictor can be presented as a psychic, as a super intelligent alien, as a deity, etc. “

“However, the only that the Predictor's predictions are "almost certainly" correct, and also specifies "what you actually decide to do is not part of the explanation of why he made the prediction he made".”


“Some argue that Newcomb's Problem is a paradox because it leads logically to self-contradiction. Reverse causation is defined into the problem and therefore logically there can be no free will. However, free will is also defined in the problem; otherwise the chooser is not really making a choice.”

“Others have suggested that in a world with perfect predictors (or time machines because a time machine could be the mechanism for making the prediction) causation can go backwards. If a person truly knows the future, and that knowledge affects his actions, then events in the future will be causing effects in the past. Chooser's choice will have already caused Predictor's action. Some have concluded that if time machines or perfect predictors can exist, then there can be no free will and Chooser will do whatever he's fated to do. Others conclude that the paradox shows that it is impossible to ever know the future. Taken together, the paradox is a restatement of the old contention that free will and determinism are incompatible, since determinism enables the existence of perfect predictors. Some philosophers argue this paradox is equivalent to the grandfather paradox. Put another way, the paradox presupposes a perfect predictor, implying the "chooser" is not free to choose,! yet simultaneously presumes a choice can be debated and decided. This suggests to some that the paradox is an artifact of these contradictory assumptions.”

“However, that exposition specifically excludes backward causation (such as time travel) and requires only that the predictions be of high accuracy, not that they are absolutely certain to be correct. So the considerations just discussed are irrelevant to the paradox which focuses on two principles of choice, one probabilistic and the other causal - assuming backward causation removes any conflict between these two principles.”

Although the facts stated seem somewhat confusing I’ll break it down the way I read it comparing v. contrasting towards LOST.

Somehow, I’m not going to get into it, but Jacob and the MIB have a controversial debate…


“They come. They fight. They destroy. They corrupt. It always ends the same.”

“It only ends once, everything before that is just progress”

MIB feels like no matter how many times they repeat a loop it’s always consistent. It always ends the same. He’s the predictor. He knows all, or at least he would think so.

Jacob is the vision of choice. He gives us a choice as human beings that in our most desperate time will make the right decision.

We are the variables. Humans have free will. This nullifies this loop, this nullifies and fixes the paradox that they can’t seem to break.


Let me know what you guys can determine from this information. Comments and rating please!!! =)